Scottish Names

Scotland names from three directions at once — Gaelic in the west and north, Norse in the isles, and Scots and Norman French in the lowlands. A Scottish name therefore tells you roughly where in the country it comes from, which is not true of English names.

Languages behind these names Gaelic Scottish Gaelic Irish Hebrew Brittonic

Rankings for

18 names, rare — 25 to 99 a year, in the United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Malcom Peaked in 1992 · 7,725 births since 1880
Boy Scottish 91 in 2025
Irving Irving names a Scottish river valley, and it reached American use largely through one writer — Washington Irving, who gave English both Rip Van Winkle and the nickname Gotham for New York.
Boy Scottish 90 in 2025
Don Don is a boy's name shortened from Donald, meaning world ruler.
Boy Scottish 89 in 2025
Donnie Donnie ranks 563rd in Ireland and 1,804th in the United States, so the country with a fraction of the births ranks it three times higher — a pattern we see when a name goes home.
Unisex Scottish 89 in 2025
Irvin Irvin names a Scottish river valley, and the green water reading describes the water rather than the banks — Brittonic river names usually record color or behavior, not the land beside them.
Boy Scottish 80 in 2025
Glen Glen means a narrow valley, and it is one of very few Gaelic words that English borrowed wholesale rather than adapting to its own sounds.
Boy Scottish 74 in 2025
Lindsay Lindsay and Lindsey are the same place — a district of Lincolnshire that was effectively an island in fen.
Girl Scottish 84 in 2025
Jennie Jennie began as a Scottish pet form of Jean and only later attached to Jennifer, which is a Cornish name with no connection to it.
Girl Scottish 79 in 2025
Angus Angus is a boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "one choice" or "one strength," from Aonghas.
Boy Scottish 58 in 2025
Stuart Stuart means steward, and the office was literally the sty warden — keeper of the pigs — which rose to run the royal household and then supplied the name of a dynasty.
Boy Scottish 53 in 2025
Kirk Kirk means church, and it is Norse rather than English — the Vikings brought the word to northern England and Scotland, which is why Scots say kirk where English says church.
Boy Scottish 52 in 2025
Murray Murray is a boy's name of Scottish origin from Moray, the northern province, whose name means "sea settlement."
Boy Scottish 58 in 2025
Finlay Finlay is a boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "fair-haired warrior."
Boy Scottish 58 in 2025
Iona Iona is a girl's name taken from the Hebridean island where Columba founded his monastery — and the island's name exists because a medieval scribe misread a letter.
Girl Scottish 65 in 2025
Janet Janet is a girl's name, a Scottish diminutive of Jane meaning God is gracious.
Girl Scottish 61 in 2025
Sandy Sandy shortens Alexander and Alexandra, meaning defender of the people — and in Scotland it is the standard familiar form of Alexander, which is why it reads as Scottish rather than merely short.
Unisex Scottish 67 in 2025
Minnie Minnie Mouse did not make Minnie popular.
Girl Scottish 54 in 2025
Lesley Lesley is the Scottish spelling and Scotland proves it — a peak of 341 births there in 1974, far above what the country's size would predict against an American high of 981.
Unisex Scottish 30 in 2025

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Scottish Names

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